Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Scream Kings!

There are some horror film actors who stand out as our favorites. Whereas the female scream queens were the survivors, the scream kings were often the ones who inspired screams. Let's take a look at some of these fine actors I think have been the very best at eliciting screams from us fans. If it seems like a lot of these actors are from much older times, we can thank the studios. They hired actors and put out what the public wanted in the 40s-60s which was a lot of horror. The horror movies from the late 70s onward have utilized less and less of typical bad guy leading men, but one particular one in this list stood out for creating a fear of sleep.

Vincent Price

1911-1995

The Invisible Man ReturnsHouse of WaxThe Fly House on Haunted HillThe BatHouse of UsherThe Haunted PalaceThe Last Man on EarthThe Abominable Dr. PhibesWhat can we say about Vincent except he is almost everyone's favorite. He was tall, well spoken, elegant, and sophisticated and yet he could talk you into anything. His timing was flawless, his body postures, and class kept his victims at bay. They would gladly follow him into the dark cold mansion because he bid them to do so.

Boris Karloff

1887-1969

The MummyThe Old Dark HouseThe GhoulThe RavenThe Walking DeadThe Invisible MenaceSon of FrankensteinThe ApeHouse of FrankensteinThe Body SnatcherVoodoo IslandThe dark shadowy sunken eyes and gaunt cheeks made Boris an ideal visual tool for conveying horror, but his voice added to it. He had a melancholy almost zombie-like attitude that made it impossible to tell what he was plotting next.

Lon Chaney Jr.

1906-1973

The Wolf ManThe Ghost of FrankensteinThe Mummy's TombFrankenstein Meets the Wolf ManSon of DraculaCobra WomanGhost ChasersThe Mummy's GhostHouse of FrankensteinThe Mummy's CurseHouse of Dracula Lon was not a particularly attractive man, seemed like any guy on the street, except his hang-dog face could convey deep emotional torment. He was able to go from the average Joe next door to tormented and anguished creature in only seconds.

Bela Legusi

1882-1956

DraculaMurders in the Rue MorgueWhite ZombieNight of TerrorMark of the VampireThe RavenThe Phantom CreepsSon of FrankensteinThe Devil BatInvisible GhostThe Wolf ManScared to DeathThe Phantom CreepsBela's accent made him sound like a Count from Eastern Europe. He stared down his opponent until they relented. It was as if in his posture, his voice and his eyes, we experienced some dark Old World curse that we could not shake. With the raise of an eyebrow, we were mesmerized.

Christopher Lee

1922-2015

Horror of DraculaThe MummyThe Two Faces of Dr. JekyllScream of FearHorror CastleCrypt of the VampireThe Castle of the Living DeadThe GorgonThe SkullTen Little IndiansDracula: Prince of DarknessDracula Has Risen From the GraveCount DraculaThe Wicker ManThe House That Dripped BloodThe Creeping FleshThere is something about an actor so very graceful and debonaire having a sinister side, a darkness within. This is what Christopher Lee created for the audience, a man you wanted to trust, but knew kept an evil secret. His dark eyes penetrated. His voice seduced us.

Robert Englund

1947

A Nightmare on Elm Street (and all its sequels)Even though this actor has a ton of movies and tv to his credit, he will always be known for giving us nightmares and fear of sleeping. His character, Freddy Krueger, was the most sadistic and taunting of bad guys.

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ABOUT ME

Sharon Day is a researcher, author, working in oil and gas industry equipment sales, equity investing and promoting of disruptive technologies. She is also co chair of a film industry group working on films..

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